You’d think she’d be tired from all of the arm-twisting I’ve subjected her to, but no. She just wrote this new guest post for you:

A while back, Naomi asked Simpler Living Facebook fans for suggestions for homemade Christmas gifts that started with a “g.” My contribution was “gorp,” or trail mix.

According to Wikipedia, gorp may stand for “good old raisins and peanuts” or “granola, oats, raisins and peanuts” or even “gobs of raw protein.” Fellow English majors may be interested to know the word also used to be a verb: “to eat greedily.”

Making your own gorp or trail mix is easy and cheaper than buying the store kind. Healthier, too, since those are often loaded with salt and preservatives. Here’s what I use:

You can add any other nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate/chocolate substitute that you like. Popular additions include chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, coconut and sunflower seeds. I buy most of my ingredients in the baking aisle, where you can find plain nuts with no salt or other additives.

The big thing to keep in mind if you make lots of trail mix is to safely store the nuts. Nuts have a high fat content and can go rancid, so they should be stored in sealed containers in the freezer or refrigerator. Once mixed, gorp will probably be good for a few months, but it should be stored in a cool, dry place.

I’ve never given trail mix as a gift, but if you’re going to do it, I would definitely use the M&Ms — they add some nice color and make it look festive. A glass container would work well (maybe repurpose an old spaghetti sauce jar) or you could fill up a clear wide-mouth Nalgene bottle for your favorite hiker.

If you’re making trail mix for yourself, it’s good to keep in mind that nuts are high in fat and calories … so try not to “gorp” it all down at once.

Thanks for sharing, Gillian! If you like hiking, skiing and learning about all things outdoors in upstate New York, read her blog here.